The present study investigates Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) in the classroom. Participants were 1746 current FL learners from around the world. We used a measure of FLE, based on Likert scale ratings of 21 items (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014), and a measure of FLCA based on 8 items extracted from the FLCAS (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986). Statistical analyses revealed that levels of FLE were significantly higher than those of FLCA. FLE and FLCA were linked to a number of independent variables: participants' perception of their relative level of proficiency within the FL classroom, number of languages known, education level, number of FLs under study, age group and general level of the FL (ranging from lower-intermediate to advanced). Female participants reported both more FLE and more FLCA. Cultural background of participants also had a significant effect on their scores. Participants' views on episodes of enjoyment in the FL class revealed the importance of teachers' professional and emotional skills and of a supportive peer group. Many participants mentioned the moment at which they realised that their long effort in mastering an aspect of the FL paid off.

Why do some students seek, while others avoid, second language (L2) communication? Many language teachers have encountered students high in linguistic competence who are unwilling to use their L2 for communication whereas other students, with only minimal linguistic knowledge, seem to communicate in the L2 whenever possible. Despite excellent communicative competence, spontaneous and sustained use of the L2 is not ensured. A colleague, who teaches a L2 and whose L2 competence is excellent, is well known to avoid "like the plague" L2 communication in social settings. A related observation is that many learners have noticed that their willingness to communicate (WTC) varies considerably over time and across situations. Our aim in this article is twofold. First we wish to provide an account of the linguistic, communicative, and social psychological variables that might affect one's "willingness to communicate." As demonstrated in the text below, and examination ofWTC offers the opportunity to integrate psychological, linguistic, and communicative approaches to L2 research that typically have been independent of each other. We view the WTC model as having the potential to provide a useful interface between these disparate lines of inquiry. Our second goal is to suggest potential relations among these variables by outlining a comprehensive conceptual model that may be useful in describing, explaining, and predicting L2 communication. In an effort to move beyond linguistic or communicative competence as the primary goal of language instruction, this article represents an overt attempt to combine these disparate approaches in a common theme, that is, proposing WTC as the primary goal of language instruction.Willingness to communicate (WTC), originally conceptualized with reference to first or native language (Ll) communication, was introduced to the communication literature by McCroskey and Baer (1985), building on the earlier work of Burgoon (1976) and others. McCroskey and Baer conceptualized WTC as the probability of engaging in communication when free to choose to do so. WTC reflects the stable predisposition to talk in various situations and is seen essentially as a personality trait. McCroskey and associates have shown that WTC is related to such attributes as communication apprehension, perceived communication competence, introversion-extraversion, self-esteem, and so forth. Although it is certain that the situation would influence a person's level of WTC, the construct developed by Me-Croskey and associates has been conceptualized explicitly as a personality trait rather than as a situation-based variable. It is not necessary to limit WTC to a trait-like variable and in the present discussion, we treat it as a situational variable with both transient and enduring influences. Further, although McCroskey's work on WTC focuses on speaking, we propose to extend WTC to influence other modes of production, such as writing and comprehension of both spoken and written language.MacIntyre (1994) proposed a model describi...

Previous research has shown language anxiety to be associated with broad‐based indices of language achievement, such as course grades. This study examined some of the more specific cognitive processes that may be involved in language acquisition in terms of a three‐stage model of learning: Input, Processing, and Output. These stages were represented in a set of nine tasks that were employed to isolate and measure the language acquisition stages. A new anxiety scale was also developed to measure anxiety at each of the stages. Generally, significant correlations were obtained between the stage‐specific anxiety scales and stage‐specific tasks (e.g., output anxiety with output tasks) suggesting that the effects of language anxiety may be both pervasive and subtle.

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Numzrous stud,izs ha oe established th2 irrwortarlce of dffectfue odliablcs, su.h as aftia.dae, motiuation, percei.ted cornpetence, ctnd altsiet1| in pred'icting suecess in xeond' language leatning and communication. Path arnJysb uas used' to inveetbgfu @ rcldtiotue dntotug tl&eevaiables, toesntir&thei impactontfu frequenc! ofsecond'lznglrye corrlrrr 'niaatiotu, dtuil to eaa,mine the role of global percotualibl trdits, Sienifiaatut pdths affectitr'g {he frequenc! of communicdtiotu wele found, from uillir4tese to comtuttuicate itu the second' langaage (L2), language learning matiuatinn, perceived L2 communicdtioe campetetbe, dt d,thc opportunitxl for cotutaclwith L2 speakerc. Furthpr ftsults dernbnatldte thatglobdL personality trai,ts and,l6neuage-reldted, dffectiue uoi.ables (su..h as attitudes end onebt!) set tfu psychol,ogical contert for seard language cortu nlttticdtiorl, Thzse resulls are interpreted in teli8 of mod,els of second langtdge ledrning dnd communicatioru.Cornmunication and second language acquisition are closely tied together. On onehand, recent trends toward a conversational approach to second language pedagogy reflect the belief that one must use the language to develop proficiency, that is, one must talk to learn. On the other hand, communication is more than a means of facilitating language leaming, it is an important goal in itself. Whether the orientation for language leaming stems from the desire to meet new people, travel, experience other culture8, or simply to use it in one'6 job